Accelerate gives Sadler elusive Santa Anita Handicap win

ARCADIA, Calif. – A wet and gloomy afternoon was no hindrance to Accelerate in Saturday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap.

Racing on a wet-fast track for the second time in his career, Accelerate won the biggest race of his career in the $600,345 Big Cap, handling the rain-soaked surface without difficulty.

Ridden by Victor Espinoza, Accelerate ($7) splashed clear in the final furlong to win by 5 1/2 lengths over pacesetter Mubtaahij.

The race distance of 1 1/4 miles was a concern before the race for winning trainer John Sadler, who watched Accelerate finish third in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at the same distance behind Collected and Arrogate last summer. The conditions on Saturday played a role, Sadler said.

“I’m a little bit suspect at a mile and a quarter,” Sadler said. “Mud will make a horse go farther if they can handle the track.”

Espinoza was not sure Accelerate liked the surface in the first furlong.

“At first, he was a little confused for the first 20 yards and after that he was better,” Espinoza said. “When I passed the wire for the first time, he got into his rhythm and I was confident.”

Mubtaahij, the winner of the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes last September, set a moderate pace of 23.49 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 47.99 for a half-mile. Accelerate was second for the first six furlongs, racing outside of Mubtaahij.

“We were hoping to be in the clear and a little off the pace,” Sadler said. “You don’t want to be eating all the mud.”

Accelerate was within a head of Mubtaahij on the turn and led by a half-length as the field approached the stretch. Accelerate was timed in 2:01.83 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 110, which equaled his career best.

“I wanted to wait a little longer because a mile and a quarter is far for him,” Espinoza said.

Mubtaahij, who was the third choice and also 5-2, held second, seven lengths clear of Fear the Cowboy. Mike Smith said Mubtaahij could not keep pace with Accelerate, and that salvaging second was a goal in the stretch.

“I wasn’t as loaded as he was,” Smith said.

Fear the Cowboy, who finished fourth in the $16 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 27, was followed in the order of finish by Giant Expectations, Top of the Game, Prime Attraction, and Curlin Road.

Hoppertunity, the multiple stakes-winning millionaire, was scratched 45 minutes before post time because of the track condition.

Accelerate gave Sadler and owners Pete and Kosta Hronis their first wins in the Big Cap. Espinoza won the 2004 running with Southern Image. Sadler, 61, was as close as fourth with the Hronis-owned Hard Aces in 2015. Accelerate was his 10th runner in the historic race.

“For me, it’s as good as it gets, for a California guy,” Sadler said.

Accelerate, a 5-year-old by Lookin At Lucky, has won 6 of 17 starts and earned $1,267,480. In his only start on a wet-fast track, Accelerate was second in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes in 2017.

The Big Cap was Accelerate’s fourth stakes win. Accelerate won the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby in 2016, and the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar last July.

Accelerate was later ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar last November, emerging from the race with a quarter-crack.

The Big Cap was Accelerate’s third start of the current winter-spring meeting. He was second in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes to Giant Expectations on Dec. 26 before winning the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on Feb. 3.

The win on Saturday was worth $360,000.

“I’m happy for John Sadler,” Kosta Hronis said. “It’s a big deal to win the Big Cap.”